Editor sentenced to six months' imprisonment now behind bars

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(ANHRI/IFEX) - The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) reiterates its deep contempt for the arrest of Yaser Barakat, editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Al-Mogaz."

Barakat was sentenced to six months' imprisonment and a £20,000 EGP (approx. US$3,500) fine on 23 June 2009. According to the terms of his sentence, he was to begin his jail time on 6 July.

The case against Barakat was filed by Mustafa Bakry, editor-in-chief of "Al-Osbooa" weekly, following the publication of an article entitled "Bakry, Syrian Intelligence and Naguib Sawiris" in "Al-Mogaz" which Bakry considered insulting.

ANHRI calls on the reporters union to resolve conflicts between reporters according to the guidelines in their charter. It is ridiculous to defend the rights of imprisoned journalists when a journalist sues his own colleague following the publication of a critical article.

ANHRI appeals to the reporters union to intervene immediately so as to bridge the gap between colleagues, to take all possible measures to release Barakat and to settle disputes through mediation rather than in court.

Although invalidated through a unanimous repeal by the Egyptian Parliament in 1928, the Assembly Law continues to be unlawfully exploited in tandem with the notorious Protest Law, passed in November 2013.

A new counterterrorism law banned the dissemination of material that contradicts Defense Ministry accounts of militant attacks, severely curtailing journalists’ ability to report on national security topics.

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